Today's Topics
Porterfield & Carnes 3&4
Porterfield & Carnes 3&4
Chapter 3 Leading Change
Chapter 4 Planning
Guest: Dr. Mark Knight
Technology Tools by Glenn E. Malone, Ed.D. on Scribd
Chapter 4 Resource
Today’s Tool: SBA Digital Library
wa.portal.airast.org
http://www.k12.wa.us/
K-12 Data & Reports
OSPI Report Card
Dr. Knight gave loads of great information to us today! I got some good ideas from talking with my group about how to get the "frozen" members of a staff to use whatever technology you are trying to implement. I work on a staff with someone people who balk at these sorts of opportunities and it has tended to hold us back from growing as a school, so I am excited to get back in the fall and try out some of the tips I got today!
ReplyDeleteI also liked learning about the SBA Digital Library. I had no idea that each district had access to this stuff and I'm a little surprised that my district hasn't passed this information on to the teachers. I am looking forward to getting my password so that I can explore further.
Our district gave us our info so we could utilize the resources in interim testing as much as possible. I think you'll find it incredibly helpful in terms of lesson ideas for specific common core standards for students to focus on!
DeleteLet me know if I can help w the Digital Library!
DeleteI really enjoyed the Blended Leadership presentation today. This is something that has been an interest of mine for a long time and how to make it happen is the only thing holding me back. I would love to see more PD in my district around this idea. I've spent some time discussing with my Principal some ideas around differentiated classroom instruction and I'm excited to share this presentation with him. But the question really remains: how do we get everyone on board with this idea?
ReplyDeleteI've used Digital Library before as a fifth grade teacher, but I always forget about it as a resource for K. Another little pet project of mine is creating thematic units aligned with common core (I'm in the process of overhauling the Kindergarten program at my school) and I think the Digi Library could be helpful with this. Has anyone used the Digital Library for thematic unit ideas before?
I have a couple of contacts for you on the Digital Library!
DeleteI am super excited to share the Digital Library resources with my peers. The lessons and professional development are valuable tools that can bridge the gap in our math curriculum. I also appreciated the reminder that we can be using these resources at the beginning of the year, rather than attempting to cram in the spring. I am excited to explore Doodle because it seems like an awesome way to organize without the long email chains that typically end up diluting the message.
ReplyDeleteDoodle is an efficient way to organize a meeting.
DeleteI think using these resources at the beginning of the year is a really good idea. It fits well with Dr. Selby's biorhythm of a school year model. Good luck exploring Doodle!
DeleteI thought that today was a very useful conversation. I liked our conversation about 1:1 devices and how to provide adult learners with professional development that suits their needs as learners. My big takeaways from this were that you need to provide timely information that can be used immediately, ensure you allow adult learners to have some autonomy and choice in their learning, give them time to work and ask questions, and provide them with clear goals for their learning. I also liked the use of doodle and padlet. These tools will be great in that they can really simplify scheduling and share ideas. Efficiency in our work is a key as a new administrator in making our lives easier and this technology has the capability to do that. I also thought that the SBAC portal digital library is a very cool resource and, ironically, I am meeting with our district assessment coordinator this afternoon. I think so much of today is very applicable to our work as administrators and want to figure out how to use these tools and which tools fit best for our school, department, etc.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what Travis says!
DeleteDr. Knight gave us a lot of useful information, I really appreciated his openness discussing things that have worked and not worked for him. I had the opportunity to have a lot of good conversations with my cohort here in Spokane. I really connected with the idea of using technology to possible differentiate content but not learning. I think that through some of the tools we have looked at in this class, it is possible to have a lot of community building occur through technology if it is a 1:1 device classroom.
ReplyDeleteToday's favorite tool for me was Padlet. I have an obsession with sticky notes to begin with and I really like the idea of 'parking lots' for kids and adult PD. Padlet gives you the ability to have a digital parking lot and share pictures and documents as well. I think that there is a lot of potential for this tool in the adult PD department. I would love to use it with my students, however we are not a 1:1 classroom, so I would have to get creative on how to make this work for students. It could be a really cool way for my different classes to interact with each other. Each period could post their learnings so the next period can add onto it, then the next day the whole class can see what all their other peers added to the board.
I am wondering if I can come up with a way to use padlet right away in our summer institute in August. I am really excited to share this tool with the rest of my peers at work. Also, I have used wordle before, and I forgot how much I really love the way it works. We have actually used it in a professional development to analyze data.
Let me know how your August PD goes Ali!
DeleteWhen I first saw padlet, I fell in love with the layout and style as well. Who doesn't love sticky notes??? What's even better is how easy it is to use padlet. I have used if for many PD with my staff and it's very useful.
DeleteI really liked our discussion about personalized, individual, and differentiated learning. I had never really thought about the differences between those three words, but they are certainly not the same! I valued discussing that and then unpacking what each of those terms really means. I think that would be valuable for teachers to do.
ReplyDeleteI think that padlet is a great tool to use for professional development. It is incredibly easy to post a ton of different ideas and then debrief on those. It would also be a great tool to use for gathering ideas for what professional developments would be useful, or what types of technology people are using and if they are working or not.
I also like Padlet because it will save me time from writing on the board in staff meetings!
DeleteI'd love to hear how you use it!
DeleteI enjoyed what Dr. Knight had to say about adult learners. I think this will be something that I will definitely review when planning professional development for staff. Before today, I hadn't thought about adults as evolved learners, but in a sense that is how we should be approaching them as principals.
ReplyDeleteI was also left with some questions as to how pacing should fit into blended learning. I'm not sure exactly how this should look or how to make this work as a principal, but maybe I just need a little more think time.
Perhaps you'll get some think time tonight as you gather pokemon!
DeleteHans, As a principal, we will want to advocate for a blended learning model for our twenty-first century learners. I agree that pacing pressures could affect the depth of blended learning. When you figure out the balance Hans, let me know :)
DeleteIt was another great day of learning. I did not know about the Digital Library. I can't wait to explore it and then share it with my staff. I think there are several teachers that will jump in and use it right away.
ReplyDeletePadlet is such a fun and useful tool! I can see myself using this in trainings, but I also think elementary kiddos will get a kick out of it as well. It was interesting to hear about andragogy and stop to think about how adults learn.
Thank you for another great day!
I so excited to hear about how you implement these ideas in Wenatchee!
DeleteDr. Knight had some great tips on how to use technology to reach many different students. I liked how we looked at many different approaches to getting teachers on board. That was a very good discussion on how we can “aid” teachers that are reluctant to technology. I have found most of these teachers to want to use technology but are nervous about how to start the process.
ReplyDeleteFor Padlet, I would want to use this to start a discussion in class regarding new topics. Kids could help drive the discussion based on their own knowledge and interest. Doodle is great for any time you have to find a time to create a meeting, especially when you know you will never find the perfect meeting time. The biggest benefit I have found is that you can determine a time that will get the most bodies in seats.
I need time to explore the SBA library, but I am very grateful for the list Dr. Knight provided. Have a lot of exploring to do before our first staff development day.
Great work Jim...Let me know how I can help with your attempt to get the Digital Library.
DeleteI can't seem to get the Blackboard video to show, but I am enjoying reading everyone's thoughts. Dr. Knight is awesome! As for Padlet, I've used this tool to connect classrooms, teachers, individual students, teams, parents, and administrators from multiple locations. It is such an amazing tool that uses real time updates and links. I highly recommend this tool for connecting different perspectives on one idea. It is also great to use as an inverted fishbowl activity. I have found that teachers become frozen with technology because they have had bad experiences with minimal time, minimal guidance, and not recognizing the technology tools that can best help them personally and professionally. To combat these issues I created an environment where teachers were given time to explore a tool, get guidance from me or another colleague and show them how the technology could be used professionally, but also personally. Teachers responded better to "playing" with the technology and listening to me more as a facilitator than a "teacher." I can't wait to see and hear what Dr. Knight had to say.
ReplyDeleteI was able to see it today Ryan.
DeleteI think teachers do get frozen and with so many ideas they don't know where to go and which one to start with. I have one staff member that is trying something new everyday and the extreme opposite a team member that only uses her computer to check email. How do we find more balance? Is there such a thing? I know when I introduce a new tool to staff, I use it several times so they can become familiar with the format and how it works. It also allows for questions and discussions about the tool as we continue through the year.
Going 1:1 is a fabulous idea! Just like I have said in my assignments however, it is necessary to get the appropriate professional development so that your staff members can feel comfortable with the technology. Often times it seems as though the fiscal side tends to be a huge obstacle with introducing technology, but in all actuality, the "frozen" teachers are also an obstacle.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, Padlet has a ton of great uses in my opinion! I could use it to take a quick poll in the classroom, but it would also be a great way to get feedback at a staff meeting!
I'm sorry to have missed Mark. He is a great instructor and has great energy. As I watched the blackboard presentation, I saw that this was true today too! How we address the adult learners is really essential as school leaders. I think how we use technology to meet different needs of our learners is important to keep in mind: I Personalized,Individualized, and Differentiated. While we differentiate and personalize for individuals in our classrooms, I hadn't thought about what these words actually meant as a whole. I also liked the idea of autonomy and choice for learners.
ReplyDeleteI love Padlet and it is a tool I use often. We will be utilizing it to start and end our presentation for Dr. Selby's class. I actually have used it more with staff PD than with my students, but it is my goal to try and use it more with my third graders.
I also shared some notes from the AWSP presentation that I attended Tuesday on my blog.